


What lurks in their lusting hearts

by Frye7



Category: Van Helsing (2004)
Genre: Denial of Feelings, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Fantasy, Female Protagonist, First Time, Late Night Writing, Non-Canon Relationship, Resolved Sexual Tension, Sexual Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-16 04:00:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20188342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frye7/pseuds/Frye7
Summary: Anna follows Aleera into an old barn, expecting a trap, but finding herself into a very different situation.





	1. The proposition

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! If you are readers of my other ff of this fandom, you should know that this has nothing to do with that story, it's just an idea about how the two ladies could have started a secret relationship way before Van Helsing's arrival. Just a one shot for fun then.  
I have no intention of abandoning the other ff, of course, but I don't have my pc with me here on vacation, so I can't update the other story for now, sorry :( but this idea came to my mind, so I wrote it instead, hope you like it!

Exiting the church, Anna wanted nothing more than going home and have dinner, when her eyes captured something out of place. Purple on white. A stain of color on the never ending white of the falling snow. A redhead vampire perched on a rooftop.  
The gipsy princess moved her hand on the hilt of her sword, as she quickly scanned the area, worried for the crowd of peasants heading out of the church as she did and going home.  
But the vampire didn't attack, nor she made any movement to reveal her presence. She seemed to be looking straight at Anna. And when she saw the princess returning her gaze, the redhead graciously slided off the rooftop and through a window, entering the old barn.  
Anna sighed. That wasn't how she had seen her evening going. Shaking her head, she started walking toward the now infested building, evaluating the situation.  
The vampire seemed to be alone, but so was she, and that wasn't in her favor. The monster hadn't acted like the usual, and didn't seem to be there to cause trouble, but who could tell? That vampire in particular loved to play with her preys, so...it certainly was a trap, but what choice did she had, if not going to check?  
Decision taken, Anna reached and opened the door of the old building, only then unsheating her sword.  
She entered and said with a loud voice "I know you are in here, so why don't we go straight to the part where you come out and face me? I'd like to be home for dinner."  
"You are no fun, princess" despite that, an amused laughter followed.  
"I also have no patience for your games" Anna talked back, annoyed "What are you doing here?"  
"Aww, grumpy, are we?" The soft voice seemed to come from a deeper part of the building, so the princess closed the door behind her and advanced in careful, little steps.  
"I told you, I'm hungry" she answered, looking around, muscles tense.  
"Well, isn't that a lucky coincidence? I am as well" the voice grew a little higher in excitement, keeping to attract the princess away from the exit.  
Anna gritted her teeth "I won't let you drain someone tonight."  
An amused laughter rang out, filling the building, a swish of clothing and the voice came from a different place than before "That's not the kind of hunger I meant."  
That made Anna's steps falter. Was it just her immagination, or had the redhead's voice sounded lower and more seductive than before?  
The princess swallowed and looked around "What do you mean?"  
"Can't you imagine it, Anna, my love?" This time, the voice seemed much more closer than before, as if the vampire was whispering right behind her.  
The princess turned again, her sword high, and asked "Where are Dracula and the other brides?"  
"Still in Budapest, enjoying the local festivity" she sounded uncaring, a pause, then she added "They won't join us tonight."  
"Why? Why aren't you with them?" Anna was getting annoyed to talk without facing her.  
"They have things to do there, and I do here. Furthermore, I have missed you terribly, my love" the voice lowered again, but it didn't sound mocking, just...sincere.  
Anna exhaled loudly, exhasperated "What do you want?"  
A long pause.  
Then, one, single word, whispered into her ear "You."  
If Anna hadn't been so astonished, she would have turned around and hit her, but she couldn't move. She stood frozen a moment too much, and when she finally acted, the vampire had disappeared into the shadows again.  
"You want my blood" she answered, a little unsteady.  
"That too, if possible" the vampire chuckled "But it's not a priority, not anymore."  
"Your kind wants me dead!" Anna shouted, trying to escape that strange conversation.  
"The Master, Verona and Marishka without a doubt do want you dead, but me?" Another chuckle "Anna, I don't know what I would do if you died."  
Again, the sincerity of her tone surprised the princess, and she didn't come up with anything other to say than "You lie."  
"Do I?" The voice grew louder again, challenging her "If I wanted you dead, I could have killed you several times tonight, but I didn't."  
"Yes, because you like to play with me first, don't you?" Anna challenged her in turn.  
"That I do, but tonight I have very different things in mind" the voice turned seductive again.  
The princess heard a window opening, and when she turned a sudden wind brought to her nostrils a strange, inviting perfume. It smelled so good Anna instantly wanted to bury her face into the neck of the woman to which it belonged. And that scared her.  
She opened her eyes suddendly, not realising to have closed them. And there she was.  
The redhead vampire, standing right in front of the window, illuminated by the moonlight. Her pale skin seemed to shine in it, a strong contrast with her fire like red hair. Her full lips were closed on her teeth, but she was smiling nonetheless. A little, satisfied smile, who told Anna that the vampire knew the effect her words and her perfume had had on her. Lastly, her eyes were human, an amazing hazel color, shining and looking at her with an intensity even greater than usual. She truly was a beautiful, tempting vision.  
Anna knew she was so, so screwed.  
"You can't lie to me, princess" the vampire started, taking a step forwards "I know what lurks in your lusting heart. I know how you look at me, I hear your heart beating faster whenever your eyes linger where they shouldn't" in spite of her words, which were hitting Anna as hard as only the truth denied for too long could, her voice was gentle, her eyes kind.  
The princess didn't even tried to deny it, she just murmured, in an almost praying voice "Aleera..."  
She didn't continue the sentence, but she didn't need to; it was clear she was begging her to stop right there.  
But the vampire was done holding back, she was done pretending not to see what they both had been feeling from the first time they had laid their eyes on each other.  
"Aren't you tired of holding back, Anna? Of living a life that had been chosen for you from others? Of always thinking only about your people and your duty? Isn't now a good time to start thinking about yourself? About your needs, your desires, about what you really want?" Aleera was looking deeply into her eyes, and was totally serious for once.  
Anna sighed and it cost her a great effort not to advert her eyes. She knew the answer. She also knew the reasons she had to put her own needs and desires away were right and just. But she was so tired to live like that. So damn tired.  
She didn't spoke, but the vampire probably read the answer in her eyes, because she closed her mouth and slightly lifted her head upwards with a knowing, sympathizing look.  
After a few moments, she said "Well, I know I want to give this a chance, whatever it is. We don't have to name it, just to decide if we want to try and see, or if we do not."  
Then, she started circling Anna slowly, putting an hand on her shoulder in doing so.  
The princess tensed, her hold on the sword tightened, but she didn't move, frozen on the spot by indecision.  
Finally, Aleera stopped right begind her, and she leaned forwards to enticingly whisper in her ear "I know what I want, but do you, Anna?"  
Her question was met again with silence, but the princess was burning inside. She wanted nothing more than turn around and give the vampire a chance, but she was frozen to the spot. Her muscles rigid, her heart thumping loudly into her ears, her mouth dry. The fight between what she wanted and what she had to do was still going on inside her head, and none of the parts was winning against the other.  
Aleera seemed to understand that the princess needed a little push to help her taking her decision, so she smiled and whispered again "Let me show you how it will be if you give this a chance."  
Before Anna could answer anything, she felt the vampire's lips on her neck, slowly opening, and she tensed even more.  
For one, terrifying, single moment, the princess' heart stopped beating, and she thought she would have died there, bitten and drained by the sworn enemy of her family, and all because she had let herself listen for once in her life to her traitorous, lustful heart. She had let her guard down, and trusted a vampire, one particularly playful and sadic, nonetheless. And that would have been the price of said action.  
Then, the moment passed, and Anna felt the vampire's lips closing on the sensible skin of her neck, and sucking on it lightly, not even enough to draw blood. Then, they opened again, and the next thing she knew was that Aleera was moving her lips up and down her neck, giving it light open mouthed kisses, and sometimes licking her skin. The redhead's other hand came up and went through her hair to caress her nape, massaging it. She left it there, not trying to make her tilt her head to gain more space for her hungry mouth to work, but letting the princess decide.  
Anna, on the other way, felt her body go even limper than before, and only the muscles in her stomach tightened, the others in her body just staid still and didn't respond to her commands. Not that she was sending any, but still.  
The skin of her neck tingled in a good way, while her all body went rapidly on fire. She wanted those magical lips and that talented tongue everywhere on her body. She was totally at the vampire's mercy and she didn't care about it. Gone were the fear, the panic, the sense of duty, gone was everything that wasn't what she was feeling right there in that moment. The redhead could do anything to her, she wouldn't and couldn't have lifted a finger to stop her. And she was fine with it. More than fine.  
Finally, she tilted her head to the right to give the vampire's lips more space on her neck, and the redhead's hand on her nape moved to gently hold her head and make her more comfortable.  
Anna was overwhelmed by the delightful sensation Aleera was giving her, but she still noticed the carefulness that the vampire was demostrating her, and that surprised and pleased her. After all the punches and the blows they had exchanged until that moment it was a nice change.  
Anna also didn't fail to notice the self controll the redhead was having in keeping herself from biting the princess. After all, if Anna herself could feel her heart soaring and her own blood running faster through her veins, the vampire certainly could as well. But she didn't make a move to bite her, nor she showed any sign of discomfort or loss of controll because of it. No, the redhead seemed to be concentrated only in giving Anna pleasure. And God, was she succeeding.  
The princess was so lost in it that she caught just barely a deep moan from escaping her throat. But the vampire heard it anyway, if the stop of movements and the smile Anna felt forming on her lips were anything to go by.  
Then, the vampire moved her mouth away from the princess' neck, who immediately felt the loss, and took some step backwards, retreating her hands from her as well, and said "So, what do you want, Anna? If you don't want to give this a chance, I'll fly away right now, and tomorrow we'll be enemies once more" then she enticingly whispered in Anna's ear again "But if you are tired of holding back and want to give this a chance, well..." she licked her lips, and Anna swore she felt it on her own skin "maybe the night won't have to end right now."  
That said, Aleera moved away again, and started walking slowly toward the nearest window; her steps were slow and calculated, the noise they made, even if almost not existent, rang out into the princess' ears just like the sound of the loud church's bells.  
Anna knew that was her only chance of a different life. She knew that if she let the vampire fly away without an answer that night, she wouldn't ask her one ever again. Her proposition would have been no more.  
The princess was so conflicted, but also so tired to feel that way. Everything she had ever done in her life had been for her family or her people, she had never knew anything but duty. And now all of that was starting to catch up to her; even the redhead, with which she had never had a real conversation, had seen her frustration, and that said it all.  
Anna knew that if she had chosen what she desired, she would have been damned. No doubt about that, since not only Aleera was a woman, but she was a vampire, a demon, a creature of the Devil himself, the embodiment of the sin.  
But would all the good things she had done in her life count nothing, in that case? Wasn't God merciful and forgiving as the church claimed? Would it had been that bad if she gave what they had a chance? Just one, single try, to see how it was to like fully for once?  
Her determination faltering, Anna turned around and shouted "Wait!", stopping the vampire just before she passed through the window.  
Aleera turned towards her, eyes and face unreadable.  
The princess swallowed, suddendly unsure on what to say "You told me you know what you want, that means you...you desire me? T-the way I do to you?"  
The redhead barely smiled, so serious her expression was, and answered "I do not know how much you desire me, Anna, but I do know I desire you more than I do your blood."  
She didn't add anything else, she didn't have to, Anna knew just how much vampires craved blood. That made the princess smile a little in return, when she said "Okay, then...I-I think I would like to give this a try."  
At that, Aleera stepped away from the window and back towards her, both of which made the princess relieved, and commented "I'm glad to hear it."  
Anna finally sheated her sword, and stretched her fingers, which were hurting for the long, tight hold she had had on the hilt of her weapon.  
The redhead noticed and stepped forwards again, taking the princess' hand in hers and starting to massage and stretch vigorously her sore fingers. Then, at Anna's surprised look, she seemed to realize that the carefulness she was showing was a little to much on their first evening together, so she smirked and recovered "For what I have in mind you will certainly need your fingers" and winked.  
Anna blushed from head to toe and lowered her gaze to the ground, not knowing a thing about being intimate with another woman but guessing the sexual double meaning of her words from the vampire's look and smirk alone.  
Aleera chuckled, for once not evilly, just in a carefree, amused way, that made the princess relax again.  
As much as she needed to lift her gaze again and ask "So, how will this thing work?"  
The vampire thought for a few moments, then answered "I think the best would be for us to meet at night or, if I can, even during the day when it's cloudy. I will have to make some excuses, and probably won't be able to come to you very often, since I won't tell the Master and the other brides anything at all about this." At the princess' questioning look, she added, with an intense gaze "I want you all for myself."  
That made Anna blush and advert her eyes again, before she commented "I wouldn't want to be shared with the rest of your kind either."  
They lightly chuckled together, then Aleera's gaze became intense and very, very heated, and she put her hands on the princess' neck, slowly caressing it, catching her attention; then she murmured "Now, about now..."  
Anna couldn't say who was the one who started the kiss, she only knew that a moment before the vampire's hazel eyes were devouring her owns, and the following one their lips were doing the exact same thing to the other's. And, for the first time ever, Anna felt her body lighting up, coming to life and not because she was fighting to remain alive, but simply because she was finally doing something she had craved to for ages. And did that felt glorious. Also, Aleera was an extremely good kisser.  
The redhead was as passionate as Anna had imagined her to be, if not even more so. She was the expert between the two, and her confidence showed itself in her gestures, in the way her mouth moved on hers, never failing to make her stomach flip, in the way she pushed the princess against a pillar and caressed her body possessively...but, in spite of it, of the urgency and the desperation she was showing, the vampire was still very careful not to hurt the human with her excessive strenght.  
Anna noticed and appreciated that for a moment, then she let herself get lost into the storm of emotions the redhead was causing in her, decided to enjoy every second of it.  
At some point, she felt Aleera's tongue lick her lips and she opened her mouth to greet it with her own. That was a point of non return for them.  
The passion and the attraction they had always felt for each other just exploded and rapidly turned into pure lust. Their movements became more frantic, the clothes an impediment, the oxygen unnecessary. All they needed were each other.  
Unfortunately, it wasn't their moment yet.  
Because with a loud creak, the door of the old barn slowly opened, and that made Anna immediately interrupt the kiss and drag the vampire into the shadows.  
Aleera, clearly more than annoyed at the interruption, hissed lightly "I will kill them for this."  
Four men had entered the building talking about the hand works the old building needed to be fixed.  
Anna immediately put an hand on the vampire's shoulder, stopoing her, and whispered "You will kill no one here, and never talk about those things again when we are spending time together" when the redhead opened her mouth to protest, she continued "We'll talk about this another time."  
Aleera didn't seem too happy about her choice of words, probably guessing that they were a goodbye, so the princess added "As hot as it can be, I don't want our first night together to be spent in here. Meet me later at my castle?"  
That succeeded in making the infuriating redhead speechless for a few moments, then she chuckled and answered "Quite the romantic, are we?" And then, lifting an eyebrow "Aren't you going to change your mind?"  
It was Anna's turn to chuckle "Trust me, after the things you showed me to be capable of doing, I will count the days till our next encounter."  
The vampire seemed pleased by her answer, and with a dark, promising smile, she talked back "And you haven't seen anything yet" a wink and, after a look to the princess' lips and a moment of hesitation, a brief kiss before the goodbye "See you at your castle, my love. Don't make me wait."  
"I wouldn't dare to" Anna answered, a smile on her face, as she observed the vampire passing through the window so fast the men didn't see anything and fly away.  
The princess had to try really hard before regaining a serious expression, then she walked to the puzzled men and told then she was in there because she thought to have heard strange noises, but that she had been wrong.  
Then Anna hastily exited the building, went to her horse and galloped to her castle, for the first time in ages feeling a juvenile excitement running through her veins.  
  
Only the time would have told her if she had taken the right decision, but for that night she already had her answer.


	2. Changes

Their secret relationship went on just fine, at first, then, once it evolved, incredibly well.

At first, both of them thought it would have been just some casual hook-ups, that would have satiated their new obsession soon enough, allowing them to come back to their normal lives, but they were wrong.  
Barely an hour spent together in a rushed, heated passion a few times a month turned into meetings hours long, spent not only in phisycal activities, but in conversation as well. And that is saying a lot, since the part involved were fated to be sworn, fatal enemies for each other.  
But, lingering regretful gazes before leaving had turned into light caresses to the asleep lover that, after a long time, had evolved in daring gesture of affection to the other when they were well awake.

This changes had been very slow, preceded by a pull and push and long wasted periods, since the two ladies didn't realise what they truly wanted from each other at the same time.  
The talks in particular had been a vital part in the evolvement of their relationship, and a big one had finally clarified everything.

In the beginning, just a few questions were asked, more small talk than anything else, especially by Anna, to break the ice and calm her own nerves, especially for their first times.  
The redhead didn't really care about chatting, since she had always preferred to go straight to the phisycal part. The vampire had always been the hungrier between the two of them and, even if sometimes Anna had her moments, was usually the more desperate about getting fast in intimate contact with her lover.  
The princess obviously desired her too with burning intensity, which hadn't change since their first time like she had expected, but she also longed for something more. Some kind of contact which wasn't just phisycal, another type of connection.  
Of course, she had never told Aleera that, not wanting to pass as the needing, starving for attention kind of person. Also, she saw that need as a weakness, and she couldn't show any of them, especially not to a vampire, moreover one she now had that kind of involvement with. After all, both of them liked their arrangement, but none of them thought it would have lasted for long.  
And it wasn't like the redhead would care about her feelings and her needs, would she?  
So Anna resigned herself to have that kind of relationship with the vampire, decided she would have taken as much as she could from what she had, and stopped trying to make small talks the first moments of their meetings, and on the contrary started to initiate the touches herself. Her new confidence seemed to be appreciated by the vampire, who answered with an intensity she never had before, responding fire with fire.  
But after a few times gone that way, Aleera started to notice the change in the princess, and the loss of her clumsy but quite adorable attempts to start a conversation. And, strange but true, she started to miss them.  
So, slowly and just a few at time, the vampire began to ask questions herself. She made sure them to be innocent enough to show little to no real interest behind them. Things like "How has been your day, my love?" or "It has been a while after the last time, how have you been?"  
Aleera didn't realise that, seeing her lover a few times so far away between them, as Dracula had come back with the other brides from Budapest, she had started to miss the other woman's presence, and not only her body, not anymore.  
At first, the redhead tried to ignore it, and spent more and more time with Verona and mostly Marishka, trying to get past her obsession with the princess, at last, moreover now that her curiosity had been satiated. But had it really? Aleera found that despite the brides, Marishka in particular, emanated a great fire when they spent their time together in intimate, phisycal activities, it wasn't nearly enough to satisfy her thirst now. And she found them to be quite boring, from the moment that, spending all their time with each others and Dracula, they had never anything new to talk about.  
Anna, on the contrary, even if she had never had a real concersation with her, was a much more interesting person, the vampire was sure of it.  
But, since the vampire had never really showed to be interested in the princess' life, Anna found her sudden, new interest to be quite suspicious. So she answered her questions sharply, and then encouraged the vampire to get straight to the point of their meeting.  
Aleera didn't like that at all, and started to regret the times when she herself had been that cold and uninterested in the princess' regards, in her as a person, and not just a piece of meat. She found herself almost disgusting for her little, superficial consideration she had had of the other woman.  
And that should have been a sign clear enough that things -feelings- were changing for the redhead as well.  
But Aleera, on the contrary of Anna, actively tried to react.  
Firstly, fighting it and attempting to forget the princess and burn the obsession she had for her with the flame of passions she consumed with her Master and the other brides.  
Then, when her first copying mechanism didn't work, she decided to go on with her new feelings and see what would have happened.  
It was all or nothing for the redhead, it had always been; and since nothing hadn't worked, she would have gone all in.  
She wasn't afraid to live and feel her emotions fully, and while she didn't like to feel vulnerable because of it, she embraced them all, and made them her shield and armor. Feelings were what made people unsure of themselves and scared, but she was no ordinary person. And until she would have been honest with herself about them, they would have been the pepper in her life, making it more worthy to be lived.  
Decision taken, Aleera had started to study the princess, and see what she could do to change things for the better of both of them.  
She even started to go out in the village during the cloudy days, when her Master and the other brides were sleeping. And that even without letting the princess know and organising a meeting with her. Yes, because her sneak outs to the village were purely for observation purposes.  
The redhead, since she couldn't get Anna speak to her yet, wanted to study her in her everyday context.  
She wanted to observe and learn and get to know her better, in one way or the other.  
It rapidly became her new favourite pastime. Since she couldn't do that very often, and she had to be very careful not only not to be discovered, but also not to burn into the sunlight, it was very exciting and not at all boring. And it felt good to see that side of Anna she had never showed in her presence: her spontaneous, carefree one, with a great smile and a sharp sense of humour.  
Aleera had seen that version of her to emerge some very rare times from the mask she wore when they spent their time together, but it was so much different from that. With her, the princess was always slightly on guard, even after all the time they had intimately spent together. And the redhead wanted to change that.  
If they were meant to come back being enemies, than so be it, but it didn't mean they couldn't fully enjoy their moments together now that they could. It also didn't mean that if Aleera didn't agree with whatever it was the fate had decided for them she wouldn't have fought against it.  
Anyway, the vampire decided to lower the number of their sexual meetings, both to see how she and the princess would have reacted to that and to spent her cloudy days observing said princess.  
The redhead noticed how her eyes lighted up less and less comparing to the time when she had to fight for her life and the time when the two of them met more often. As egoistic asnit was, she was glad for it, glad to have become, even at the princess' unbeknownst, a big influencing factor in her life. And that she covered that role alone on her own, being no more part of the biggest threat with the rest of her immortal family, but, on the contrary, the one vampire with which the princess had a strange, unique relationship with. She was no more viewed by Anna a little part of something, but as a relevant thing of her own. As twisted as it might be, it made the vampire very pleased.  
Her visits at the village brough Aleera to know for sure that the princess didn't have a significant other, nor a potential candidate to that position. And that also brought a big, satisfied smile on her face and a feel of great relief she didn't bother to suppress. Not that she had many doubts about that, but still, it was good to have a confirmation.  
Anna had many friends though, most of them were her sworn men, sons of her father's friends, or other people she had grown up with. The redhead didn't consider any of them a threat for the princess' attentions, but she would have kept an eye out anyway, just in case.  
Then, one of those days happened something that pushed things to move faster toward the change.  
A young, handsome looking man came to the village.  
The vampires heard from their spies of his coming, and Aleera volunteered to go and check in person if he was a threat or not. And she didn't like at all what she witnessed.  
Anna welcomed him with a wide smile and even wider arms, humming happily words of welcome the vampire couldn't hear, nor focus on, since a red, thick fog had clouded her senses. She recognised the feelings right away: rage, possessiveness, and, most of all, burning jealousy.  
The redhead observed from the tree she was perched upon all the genuine smiles, the attentions, the way she laughed with him, seemingly without tension, restrain or carefulness. She observed her joyful, carefree, beautiful laugh. She watched it all with a growing envy. Those precious things that she discovered to be craving all along with Anna's body that had been and were still being denied to her so sharply were now being given for free at that young man.  
The bark of the tree shattered in her hand, but Aleera didn't even blink.  
She kept her now purple eyes fixated on that little human. She imagined how good it would have felt to fly right there and sink her canines deep into his neck, drain him until his last drop of blood had left his body. Or, she could just fly there and slice his pretty face open, then she would have liked to see if the princess would have been so eager to get his attentions.  
Wait, Anna. What would she have thought of her if she had actually satisfied her emotional bloodthirst on him?  
That thought alone was enough to keep the vampire from doing something she would have surely regretted, because it would have severely complicated her relationship with Anna, no doubts about that.  
So the redhead remained perched on that tree, quite and still, just observing and trying not to compromise the plant's stability any more than she already did.  
After a few moments of big, returned smiles which made the vampire's hands itch with the desire to punch him, Velkan Valerious arrived.  
Aleera leaned slighty forwards.  
He was Anna's brother, a brave man really protective of who he called her "little sister", much to said sister annoyance.  
Knowing that, the redhead guessed that he wouldn't be happy as well to see a young man in such an friendly behaviour with his little sister. Well, he probably would be much happier if he knew the alternative was a vampire, but she chose to ignore that. It was highly unlikely that he would find out about them, and so not important.  
She was wrong though.  
For a moment, Velkan Valerious looked very closely at the stranger, then he laughed and hugged him as well.  
Aleera's mouth fell open in surprise and indignation for what she considered a true and felt treason in her regards. She observed astonished as the two brothers offered the stranger to stay in their castle for as much time as he wished, and then the three of them starting to walk toward it.  
The vampire exhaled loudly, trying to calm herself and ponder on her next move.  
She could come back to the castle to tell her Master about this new arrival in the village, or...she could have stayed and tried to find out more about him, and his relationship with Anna. Yes, that would have been for the best.  
Dracula and the other brides were surely sleeping anyway, he would have thought nothing suspicious even if she had come back to them that night. And she really needed to figure out who was he for the princess.  
So, as soon as it was safe for her to do so, Aleera flew to the Valerious' castle and waited outside Anna's bedroom window for the woman arrival.  
Usually, she wouldn't have liked to wait hours like that, but for Anna she discovered she didn't mind a little wait at all. And what were a few hours, compared to eternity? Not even a blink of an eye, that's what.  
Then, a few hours later, the door of the chamber opened, and Aleera's senses sharpened again. And she didn't like what she witnessed, at all.  
Anna was in the doorway, talking to the man, an hand laid on the door's handle, but she still wasn't closing it.  
"I'm happy to see that, despite all the years spent separated, nothing has changed" the man was saying.  
"Yeah, me too" the vampire couldn't see the princess' face, only the back of her head, but from the sound of her voice she knew for sure that the princess was smiling to him.  
Aleera, still in her bat form since it made hanging out of a building easier for her, slowly moved her claws down the stone wall, wishing it was the stranger's body instead.  
"Well, I can think about something that I would like to change, for the better of course" the man whispered, and the redhead widened her eyes when she saw his gaze become more intense and travel south, till the princess' lips probably, as he leaned slightly forwards.  
But Anna put an hand on his chest, and said quickly, but not coldly "Good night, Edward."  
The man observed her expression for a moment, then smiled and, lightly bowing his head, returned the wish.  
But it was only when Anna finally closed the door and leaned her back into it that the vampire could finally exhale and relax her muscles.  
Then, losing no time, she turned back into her human form and tapped the window.  
Anna winced and opened her eyes, meeting the redhead's. For a moment she stood there, surprised and probably at a loss of what to do, but then she recovered and walked to the window to open it.  
"I wasn't expecting you tonight" she said, not meeting her gaze.  
"Do you want me to leave then?" Aleera asked, her voice soft, not moving from her spot on the window. She actually didn't care about all the hours she had spent waiting for the princess, she wanted her to be free to choose if she was okay with her being there or not.  
Anna hesitated, surprised, and met her gaze, studying her expression. She surely wasn't expecting that question, or the fact that the redhead apparently cared about her expectations and her desires. She observed the way the vampire hadn't entered the bedroom, waiting for her answer instead, and the way in which she hold herself, ready to move forwards or, if requested, retreat and jump out into the sky.  
All of that brough a little smile on the princess' lips, that she immediately repressed, and she stepped backwards, saying "No, you can stay."  
Anna wasn't really in a mood to do anything that night, and it showed in her movements, in her body's closure and in the fact that she hadn't forcefully dragged the redhead inside, meeting her lips with her owns.  
Aleera caught in all of that and saw it as an opportunity to speak clearly and talk things through with her. And she knew she couldn't waste it, since, one way or the other, their relationship would have changed definitely after that night.  
"I wanted to talk to you about something, Anna, but first" and she nailed her with her gaze "Who is the misterious man which has been glued to your side for the major part of the day?"  
The princess froze on the spot, looking at her with wide eyes, astonished. When she finally recovered the sense of speech, she asked "How do you know he has been by my side all day? Have you been spying on me?"  
She seemed a bit upset about that, but the vampire couldn't read anything more from her expression, so she went for the truth "The Master asked me to come and find out if he was a threat for us or not" seeing the woman's face to darken at her words, she added "But I and I alone wanted to know who he is to be granted the privilege to be by your side the whole day and receive all those gestures of affection from you."  
Aleera didn't avert her eyes, nor her voice faltered once during her speech, and observed very pleased how the princess' face became surprised, then disbelieving and then, after a close look at her expression, how it softened considerably.  
She stepped forwards and a little smile appeared on her face as she answered, a bit uncertain still because of the vampire's surprising words "He is -uhm- an old friend of Velkan and me. We grew up together then, when we were teen, his family left. We haven't seen him for many years. We were supposed to..." she stopped, blushing.  
Aleera, noticing it, half closed her eyes and asked "You were supposed to what?"  
"Well, our parents thought the two of us would have gotten married, seeing how close we were. He even asked me to leave with him..." she stopped when she saw the redhead's face twist in fury and her eyes changing into their supernatural colour: purple.  
The vampire could barely stop her canines to grow as well, not wanting to upset the princess more than she probably already had. But she couldn't help it: she was so, so enraged at only the thought of the woman marrying that man. And she knew for sure her heart would have sunk if the princess had left with him and disappeared from her life. No, she would have killed him before letting that happen.  
But her murderous thoughts were suddendly stopped when she heard a rather unamused snort.  
She moved her eyes back on the other woman.  
Anna stood there, arms crossed, looking something between furious and bitterly amused. She took another step forwards, not intimidated in the slightest by the angry expression of the vampire, and asked in an equally angry, low voice "How dare you? How dare you being jealous of him, who had just come back into my life, when you had been married for centuries with not one or two, but three other people? Just...how dare you?"  
Her tone was low, but it masked none of the barely contained fury the princess was clearly feeling.  
Aleera tilted her head, looking at the ground for an instant while doing so, in a slight embarassed gesture.  
She closed her eyes for a moment, turning them back into their original hazel colour. Then she met Anna's gaze again and answered, voice low "Well, that had happened before even your grandparents were born, so I think you can hardly hold it against me."  
Anna scoffed and turned around, showing her back and shaking her head. Then she turned again toward her and talked back "But I don't think you have stopped doing what married people usually do with each others from the start of our arrangment, have you?"  
Aleera sighed deeply "I haven't, but it hasn't felt the same ever since our first time together. No, look at me Anna" she added, when the princess turned again, still shaking her head, clearly not believing her.  
"Look at me" the redhead repeated, more softly than before, and, when the other woman's eyes met hers again, she talked again "It hasn't felt the same as before. It's like something is missing."  
"And why is that?" Anna asked, an annoyed expression still lingering on her face.  
"Well, that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about" the vampire explained "But first, I need to know if things between you and that man..."  
"Edward" The princess interrupted her "his name is Edward."  
"And that man" Aleera continued "have remained unchanged. Or, as it seems he would like, you too want to change them in what he considers a better way."  
Anna blinked a few times, then asked "What do you care about..."  
"Please Anna" the vampire interrupted "just answer me."  
But the princess kept talking "...me and him? I mean, even if we decide to change things between us, it's not like this thing you and I have is going to go on for the rest of our lives, is it?"  
"That's exactly why I care! I'm trying to tell you that if you want to, things between us can change! Now would you please answer me and then let me explain without farther interruptions?" Aleera realised she had almost sounded hysterical, so she took a calming breath and added, with a softer voice "Please?"  
Anna's mouth fell open, and she blinked a few times, then, still shaken, murmured "Maybe ten years ago I would have loved for me and him to have something more than friendship, but now...now some things have changed, and I don't really see us to become something more than friends."  
Aleera let her finish, then smiled, took a step forwards and said "I'm glad to hear it, I really am" she swallowed, then continued "I..." she stopped, words failing her, which was a new things for the vampire. Well, she was coming across many new things lately.  
The princess seemed to realise that the redhead wanted to talk about something important, and that she was having troubles in the start, so she smiled softly and offered "Would you like us to sit down?"  
The vampire's eyes immediately found hers again, and she nodded, recognising the help offert and grateful for it; she followed the princess and sit with her on the bed. Immediately, many memories of their time spent there flowed through her mind, but she tried to stop them, not wanting to be distracted in that important moment, not even by something so pleasant.  
Anna uncertainly scooped a little closer to the redhead, and asked softly "So, you wanted to talk to me about...changing things between us?"  
Taking another deep breath, Aleera met again her gaze and answered "Yes, I did. I...would love to get to know you better, Anna. I don't want to know only every single part of your body, I want to know your interests, your dreams,your personality...I want to know you better as a person. And I take the chance to say that I'm sorry for having shutted you down everytime you tried to start a conversation with me. I'm sorry for the fact that most of the times I've looked at you and seen not the woman, not the princess, but only hers delightful, beautiful body. I'm ashamed of myself and I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"  
Anna looked at her for a long moment without saying anything, than answered "Yes, I can, because firstly our arrangement was unclear, and it could have actually been interpretated as you did, and secondly, you apologised. And that means a lot, it actually made what you just said me sound more truthful."  
"It is, Anna" the redhead gently talked back "I swear to you it is."  
The princess didn't blink as she answered "Prove it"  
The vampire tilted her head, asking "How would you like me to prove it?"  
Anna thought for a moment, then said "I won't ask you to leave your..."family"...for me. It's too soon for that, and we might not work out as a couple, and..."  
"Wait" the redhead interrupted her "you want us to be a couple?"  
The gipsy just lifted a teasing eyebrow "Why, you meant that you want to know me better as a friend?"  
Aleera studied her expression for a moment, then she chuckled nervously "No, but it's not what I want that I'm interested in right now, but in what you want. And I didn't have the arrogance to expect.."  
"That I would want to have more with you than a few hook-ups every month?" Anna asked, a teasing then turned compliant smile on her face "Well, truth to be told, neither did I at the beginning. But now I do want more with you, have wanted for some time, actually. I didn't said anything because I would never have thought to be reciprocated in it."  
Aleera smiled and put an hand on one of the princess' "But you are. I'm sorry it has taken me so long to realise that, and the arrival of a possible adversary to push me into doing something..."  
At that, Anna laughed wholeheartedly, and the redhead felt her heart coming back to life at the sound.  
"You are so adorable when you are jealous" the woman smiled teasingly.  
The vampire scoffed and talked back readily "You wouldn't had thought that if I had let myself follow my instincts, this morning. They were so, so violent."  
The princess half closed her eyes "So you actually were spying on me."  
The redhead shrugged "I was, yes."  
Anna shook her head, chuckling, then propose "How about we stop talk about today's events and start talking about us?"  
Aleera immediately became serious, and asked "What do you want us to discuss?"  
"Everything. We will have all the time in the world. That's what you are gonna do to start proving to me that your intentions toward me are sincere. You are going to spent the night here, and wake up with me tomorrow morning" Anna's voice lowered, and she looked intently into the vampire deep eyes, eager to know her answer.  
And the redhead didn't let her wait.  
Aleera smiled, a full, happy smile, probably the first one she had ever showed the princess, and answered "With immense pleasure." She leant forwards and looking at Anna first for permission, immediately granted with a nod, she slowly and sweetly kissed her.  
She did so in a way she never had, taking her time to memorize the shape of Anna's lips, their taste, their softness; she couldn't get enough.  
Then she leant back and hummed "There is only one problem."  
Anna huffed "Yes, if you want to prove that you feel more for me than simple lust, you'll have to spend the night away from Dracula. That's the point."  
The princess tensed again, but the vampire just chuckled "That's not it, my love" it felt different calling her that now that she had tolf her about her deeper feelings, and it also sounded different, if Anna's surprised but pleased expression was anything to go by "I'm a creature of the night, so I won't be able to sleep and, consequentially, wake up with you."  
Anna exhaled, more relaxed now, and talked back "Well, I'm sure we can find something else to do besides talking that will tire you out."  
A mischievous smile was now decorating her alluring lips, and Aleera returned it, addind "We also have to close the curtains, if you don't want our new found feelings to literally burn out in a few hours."  
"Go on and do it then" Anna answered, the seductive smile not leaving her face "We don't want anyone to spy on us either."

And so they started a new kind of relationship, a romantic one, new for both of them.  
There would have been mistakes as well as many difficulties in their path, but two stubborn, fighting people like them would have found a way to make it work, or burn the world in the attempt to do so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, what do you think?  
Just wanted to tell you that the next chapter will probably the last, and it would be that the one inspired by the youtube video, not this one.

**Author's Note:**

> So, this could be a one shot, but if you want, since I can't update Of immortal souls and tempting monsters for now, I'll write a possible sequel. Explained better: if you want to consider this just a one shot, stand alone, you can, but if you want to see a sequel I'll write it. It will be inspired by a youtube video I really like, which I of course will quote in case.


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